My blog featuring my "Gastar" series of novellas along with other fun articles/reviews in dark fantasy and other genres

C.C.Cole

author C.C.Cole's blog

Thursday, June 21, 2012

On Lawyers, Blades, and Real Estate

As clichéd as it seems to go
directly from reading “Frankenstein” to “Dracula” for readers and writers, it’s
still worth the time.For
non-monster-classic readers, Mary Shelley’s classic came out in the early
1800’s, and Bram Stoker’s eternal bad boy was published closer to
1900.As much as we Dark Fantasy
readers table pound over LOTR, the inspiration of the pre-Tolkien horrors span
centuries, continuing with books, TV series, and of course, films.

I know I first read “Dracula”
as a teenager but not sure exactly when.I like it better than “Frankenstein.”Overall, it’s more entertaining, but the journal-style writing gets a
bit tiresome, the hero-fellas seem to overlap, and as I recall before, it
should not have taken Lucy around three hundred pages to die (I know,
insensitive!).Our new-and-improved
vampires of today don’t mess around; victims usually are dead by the end of the
scene.

What happens in “Dracula” is
that an English lawyer travels to meet the Count in Transylvania to complete a
real estate transaction.The vampire
apparently wants to move his business around, and his human neighbors are
getting weary of him.While the young
lawyer corresponds with his lovely finance, the Count intercepts and reads his
mail.(How rude!).The lawyer returns to England after realizing
his client is a horrific monster, but finds not only that he’s made himself
several cozy nests throughout London, he’s moved next door.The death of his fiancée’s friend Lucy sets
of the chain of events leading to a great chase and bittersweet ending of this
tale of good and evil.

First, the clichés:If there is a horror story more clichéd than
this one, I’m happy to stand corrected.But in the original “Dracula” to me, it doesn’t read like clichés.The garlic, crosses, holy water, wafers,
coffins, wolves, and bats work with the story as extensions of the creature’s
power and methods to limit it. These definitions give the reader the unnatural
feeling needed for the horror jolt.What’s old-fashioned today is what made it great in the first
place.

Second, the protagonist:While the knee-jerk reaction when this story
is mentioned is the title character, I suspect ace protagonist vampire hunter
Abraham Van Helsing inspired more writers than Hugh Jackman’s hair stylist
(couldn’t resist that one).Being
intelligent, prepared, mature, and incorruptible, he stands strong against the
very powerful antagonist.He’s an easy
favorite good guy.

Third, the antagonist:Dracula, the ultimate vampire, sets the
standard for the toothy night stalkers of today.He’s at least three centuries old, can change
shape, move weather, super-strong, manipulative, and can create attractive
female vampires to keep him company and spread his evil.But his ill deeds catch up with him, and
though his demise is anti-climatic by today’s standards, considering the times,
it still works.

Elements of “Dracula” follow
us as we write horror, dark fantasy, or paranormal romance.Whether we remember the details of this
prototype novel or not, we use them as we weave our own stories.My recommendation for vampire-fans is to reel
in the clichés and visit the Count.Just
don’t sell him any land, and don’t share your mail.